Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump in three Rust Belt states that were key to the president’s 2016 victory, according to a Reuters poll released Wednesday.
The Reuters-Ipsos poll found that among registered voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, 45 percent backed Biden, while 39 percent backed Trump.
In a state-by-state breakdown, Biden led Trump by 3 points in Wisconsin, 6 points in Pennsylvania and 8 points in Michigan.
A separate Reuters-Ipsos poll Tuesday found Biden with an 8-point lead over the president nationally.
The poll also found Trump’s approvals underwater in all three states, albeit by narrower margins than his national approvals. Forty-seven percent of registered Wisconsin voters approve of the president, compared with 53 percent who disapprove, while in Pennsylvania, 48 percent approve and 52 percent disapprove. In Michigan, 44 percent approve and 56 percent disapprove.
Voters in all three states listed the coronavirus pandemic as their top concern, with 48 percent of voters in the three states identifying it as the most important issue in their community, followed by the economy with 15 percent, health care with 12 percent and immigration with 2 percent.
Trump and Biden were neck and neck for who voters thought was best suited to handle the pandemic and its economic fallout. About 50 percent of voters answered Biden, compared with 47 percent who said Trump was best for the job.
About 47 percent of voters across all three states said they approved of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, compared with 67 percent who approved of their governor’s handling of the crisis.
Ipsos surveyed 612 registered Michigan voters, 578 Pennsylvania voters and 645 Wisconsin voters from April 15 to April 20. The poll has an overall 3-point margin of error and a 5-point margin of error for each state.